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I'm on INDIVIDUAL Unlimited grandfather 3G plan: What should I do?

I've been reading through the hundreds of posts on the new plans and getting rid of unlimited data.

I currently am on a grandfathered Nationwide Talk 450 $39.99 PLUS unlimited data $29.99 plus $5 for 250 txts.
I also get a corp discount of about 20% so I pay about $65 month total.

I have an iPhone 4. Not eligible for discount until 10/12. Contract ends 2/13

From all I've read, I THINK what is true is the following:

If I do nothing, I keep my plan.

If I ever want to get a new phone, I i have to buy it FULL RETAIL if I want to keep my plan.

If I get a new phone at discount price I lose my unlimited?

Questions:

If I do nothing at 2/13 when I'm month to month do I still keep unlimited?

Does this June 28th deadline help me at all? Since my upgrade discount isn't til Oct, I can't get a Galaxy Nexus now and stick to unlimited can I (without paying full price?)

I have rearely used this phone since I had a phone via work. But new job and they may just give me a subsidy for my existing phone (i.e. this one) and therefore will give me some $ to buy a new phone but it looks like if I do it after the 28th I lose my unlimited plan.

I've been reading through the hundreds of posts on the new plans and getting rid of unlimited data.

I currently am on a grandfathered Nationwide Talk 450 $39.99 PLUS unlimited data $29.99 plus $5 for 250 txts.
I also get a corp discount of about 20% so I pay about $65 month total.

I have an iPhone 4. Not eligible for discount until 10/12. Contract ends 2/13

From all I've read, I THINK what is true is the following:

If I do nothing, I keep my plan.

If I ever want to get a new phone, I i have to buy it FULL RETAIL if I want to keep my plan.

If I get a new phone at discount price I lose my unlimited?

Questions:

If I do nothing at 2/13 when I'm month to month do I still keep unlimited?

Does this June 28th deadline help me at all? Since my upgrade discount isn't til Oct, I can't get a Galaxy Nexus now and stick to unlimited can I (without paying full price?)

I have rearely used this phone since I had a phone via work. But new job and they may just give me a subsidy for my existing phone (i.e. this one) and therefore will give me some $ to buy a new phone but it looks like if I do it after the 28th I lose my unlimited plan.

I'd like to keep unlimited plan and get a new phone.

Come 2/13 and you go month-to-month you keep your unlimited according to current Verizon policy.

June 28th is meaningless to you other than to keep your unlimited data, you cannot use upgrade pricing on any new phone. You'll have to pay the month-to-month pricing.

Originally Posted by GSMinCT

Keep your plan and figure out what to do when you want a new phone, i.e. whether to drop to 2GB for a subsidy, or pay full price for whatever LTE phone you want next.

Yep, anybody not currently out of contract and ineligible to have their upgrade date bumped forward has no need to panic. The current tiered data, new shared plans, and full priced phones will all be available at that time. But there are some eligible for upgrade next month, that might possibly be allowed to upgrade early if they call CS before June 28th. My son, whose upgrade date was 7/10, was able to upgrade yesterday and take a last upgrade, while keeping his unlimited data.

But at some point in the future if I ever want a new phone i have to either 1) pay full price to stay on unlimited or 2) get subsidy and go to tiered?

I guess right now if I get a new phone it's full price no matter what.

Eventually you'll face the choice of paying full price to keep unlimited vs switching to either tiered data or an everything share plans if you want upgrade pricing. Since you have no choice currently but to wait anyway, you might wish to sit out the new phone as long as you can and see how these new plans affect phone prices. If a large enough percentage of unlimited users hold on to their unlimited plans, it may affect the market place enough that we will see smartphone prices either skyrocket or drop significantly. I'm betting on status quo, since I suspect the vast majority of customers will be more worried about the upgrade pricing than monthly pricing. We see that in the housing and automobile market. Customers tend to focus on what they have to pay today and not next month, ignoring the long term effects of their decision. Also ATTM will be offering their new share plans soon, there is a very slim chance they won't copy Verizon's new pricing plan and might offer a deal worth jumping over for. Plus currently Sprint is in the process of improving their current 3g network and starting to ramp up their roll out of LTE. So the good news is that you have lots of options if you don't get tunnel vision or live in a rural one carrier town.

Eventually you'll face the choice of paying full price to keep unlimited vs switching to either tiered data or an everything share plans if you want upgrade pricing.

Well, for now, but longer term "eventually" we don't know if those choices will be offered! It could be that moving to a 4g phone, even at full retail or bringing your own, will be considered grounds for forcing a new contact, or say an unacceptable month-to-month rate, making it uneconomic to keep unlimited. Or they could just say unlimited is no longer supported month-to-month. In the past, Verizon and others have kept grandfathered plans more or less for ever if you don't sign a new contract but nothing forces them to do this. A sort of exception was unlimited international data. Even those subscribed to it eventually lost it, it could not be renewed.

@Gary, I'm in a similar situation except the employer thing. In any case I couldn't think of any reason I'd want to get rid of my unlimited plan. Verizon may at some point decide to force us off and onto shared plans, but until that may happen I'm standing pat with what I have. but, if your employer wants you to use your personal phone for business wouldn't that maybe go beyond your 450 min ceiling? I had the plan your on now and while I don't make a ton of calls I had a lady friend that was causing me to eat thru minutes. I had to upgrade to the 900 min plan and with it I could put her as one of my free unlimited minutes number offered with that higher minute plan. In any case I'd stick no matter what and just get a new phone thru other means. So, your new employer won't pop for one? That'd be sweet.

Well, for now, but longer term "eventually" we don't know if those choices will be offered! It could be that moving to a 4g phone, even at full retail or bringing your own, will be considered grounds for forcing a new contact, or say an unacceptable month-to-month rate, making it uneconomic to keep unlimited. Or they could just say unlimited is no longer supported month-to-month. In the past, Verizon and others have kept grandfathered plans more or less for ever if you don't sign a new contract but nothing forces them to do this. A sort of exception was unlimited international data. Even those subscribed to it eventually lost it, it could not be renewed.

All we have to go on is Verizon's track record currently. So for the next 2-5 years I expect that they will honor their commitment to allow us to purchase a phone at month-to-month pricing while retaining our current unlimited data or tiered data for those happy with whatever tiered data plan they may have. The market is going to change so much anyway over the next 2-5 years. It makes no sense to worry too much about losing unlimited data 2-5 years out, unless of course Verizon and the other carriers have pissed you off and outraged you enough that you decide to just say FU, I'm going with a simple flip phone, unlimited voice/text in the under $50/month prepaid market.

You have options

Many people do not understand that the option is to use an unsubsidized phone NOT a full price retail phone. Just this week I upgraded my wife's phone to a new used moto which I got off eBay for 150 with accessories and another battery. It took all of five minutes to swap the phone and I stay under grandfathered.

Now Verizon likes all of these sub going away because once the contract is over and you don't renew you are giving them a 20$ a month raise because now there is no subs. Now you buy a used phone or new one--not wise. They still get the raise. Sooner or later they will find a way to get you off but in the meantime they enjoy an extra 20 in their pockets. Since a vast majority never go over 1 gb this is a great deal.

They can already throttle heavy users so if you are using I.e. 5 gb. You get put in a lower service tier and get throttled if there is contention on the cell. This is no skin off their back. Their backhaul costs are fixed. Look at how sprint is screaming.

In any case they will be happy to keep you around, and can always shape if you become a hog. And they get a 20 raise.

The big thing is will people pay retail for the latest or go bargain hunting for a one year old phone for much less...

For instance my droid charge--a thoroughly crappy phone-- retailed for 450 and now a year later I can barely sell it for 150$! You can get a few bucks for that iPhone. And you can parley that into say a razor Maxx or something else when your contract comes up or just keep using the iPhone.m nothing wrong with it...

Many people do not understand that the option is to use an unsubsidized phone NOT a full price retail phone. Just this week I upgraded my wife's phone to a new used moto which I got off eBay for 150 with accessories and another battery. It took all of five minutes to swap the phone and I stay under grandfathered.

Now Verizon likes all of these sub going away because once the contract is over and you don't renew you are giving them a 20$ a month raise because now there is no subs. Now you buy a used phone or new one--not wise. They still get the raise. Sooner or later they will find a way to get you off but in the meantime they enjoy an extra 20 in their pockets. Since a vast majority never go over 1 gb this is a great deal.

They can already throttle heavy users so if you are using I.e. 5 gb. You get put in a lower service tier and get throttled if there is contention on the cell. This is no skin off their back. Their backhaul costs are fixed. Look at how sprint is screaming.

In any case they will be happy to keep you around, and can always shape if you become a hog. And they get a 20 raise.

The big thing is will people pay retail for the latest or go bargain hunting for a one year old phone for much less...

For instance my droid charge--a thoroughly crappy phone-- retailed for 450 and now a year later I can barely sell it for 150$! You can get a few bucks for that iPhone. And you can parley that into say a razor Maxx or something else when your contract comes up or just keep using the iPhone.m nothing wrong with it...

The thing is, prepaid carriers have outdated weak phones anyway generally and charge you through the nose for them and give you terrible data speeds. At least with verizon you can have unlimited and awesome speeds on LTE, and even if you have to go buy a $100-$200 used smartphone as least you can get something as good or better than you would have on the cheap prepaid carriers.

Besides verizon is subsidizing phones less and less I feel. That or they lose value way way too fast. look at the razr maxx, still $300 on their website, but a used one goes for $400, so they are only giving you a $100 subsidy. They want $200 for a droid 4 worth $300 at best. $150 for a galaxy nexus worth $250-$300. I really isn't an amazing subsidy. Throw in tax and the $30 upgrade fee neither of which you pay on ebay and you end up with a phone that is subsidized $50-$100. Only in the first maybe 2-4 months of a phone's existence is it ever subsidized a decent amount because few people are selling them used then. However the thing is, people with unlimited who want to keep it are likely heavy users who root and rom and do all sorts of things with their phones, and those people despite loving new tech more than the average consumer also know that the first couple months a phone is out can be the worst as development just starts. In all fairness verizon is scamming their customers, for what they charge, all smartphones should be free.

If I buy a new phone e.g. Galaxy Nexus and pay full retail price, can I switch my MINUTES to Unlimited minutes ($69 instead of $39) and keep my grandfathered Unlimited data? I think that is the best choice for me. Will end up paying $100 for unlimited everything.

But not sure if swtiching my minutes will affect my grandfathered data or going to 4G will mess me up.

If I buy a new phone e.g. Galaxy Nexus and pay full retail price, can I switch my MINUTES to Unlimited minutes ($69 instead of $39) and keep my grandfathered Unlimited data? I think that is the best choice for me. Will end up paying $100 for unlimited everything.

Yes, you can do that. But don't take my word for it. Go to My Verizon and start the upgrade process (you can cancel at any time) and you will see what your options are.

If I buy a new phone e.g. Galaxy Nexus and pay full retail price, can I switch my MINUTES to Unlimited minutes ($69 instead of $39) and keep my grandfathered Unlimited data? I think that is the best choice for me. Will end up paying $100 for unlimited everything.

But not sure if swtiching my minutes will affect my grandfathered data or going to 4G will mess me up.

Yeah that should be completely fine, you can change your minute plan and even text plan and still retain the data.

If I buy a new phone e.g. Galaxy Nexus and pay full retail price, can I switch my MINUTES to Unlimited minutes ($69 instead of $39) and keep my grandfathered Unlimited data? I think that is the best choice for me. Will end up paying $100 for unlimited everything.

But not sure if swtiching my minutes will affect my grandfathered data or going to 4G will mess me up.

Originally Posted by Extraordinary

Yeah that should be completely fine, you can change your minute plan and even text plan and still retain the data.

Yes, but... Two VZW sales reps said something to me, which led me to ask a carefully crafted question to CS last Wednesday - and it led to an answer that may be the next thing that we VZW customers with 3G devices on GF UL data watch out for. I have a rep that services my company (who'd been out of town for the past two weeks), but before he left he mentioned the then-upcoming plan change and I had several upgrades to burn. The one thing he told me that caught my attention was that "in the future" VZW might not port UL 3G plans to UL 4G plans (I have a few iPhone 4 devices and several LTE devices, and I like my iPhone 4S), and I think he was offering friendly advice to move the 3G lines to LTE - and he's never been a tool to push sales, and he knows that I have a few back up LTE phones for my employees. Then, last Wednesday I went to a corporate store to use my personal upgrades and I opted for the iPhone 4S and put my iPhone 4 in a drawer as a back up - as the sales person was activating my device he said "you should know that unlimited 3G data plans are going away", without offering more (I should have asked him for more details, and I might go back or email him for a clarification...).

On Friday, I called CS and asked about being able to port a 3G line to LTE, explaining that I have 3G devices right now. I was told that, right now, we can port UL 3G to UL LTE, "but that might change in the future." To be fair to the 611 CS rep, it was good to hear that I can move my plan to LTE. And, then she added "you might want to monitor what our future plans are in regard to legacy unlimited data plans". That didn't help IMO..